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Literature and Culture: Ethics Wiki
Welcome to the Wiki!! This is a collaboration of all the Course Reflections/Prompt Answers for Group E! Enjoy! Group Collaboration Reflections can be found here. Summer Walls It’s very interesting to examine the relationships between various groups that make themselves known during wartime. The victors and the defeated, the heroes and the victims, the “good” guys and the “bad” guys, the innocent and those that take action all contribute to the vast social dynamics of the war machine. It is said that history is written by the victors, and this is very true, but does there exist a corruption of history based on this? Every group’s stance on any given subject is simply a product of perception, and so history must be viewed objectively to avoid ethnocentrism. Dichotomies exist in every work we have read throughout the semester. Take for example, youths and adults in All Quiet on the Western Front, the conflicting roles of torturer and helper in Love My Rifle More Than You, and the simple Yooks and Zooks in The Butter Battle Book. Even though each of these works has some kind of moral, it is important to note that even so, a single group serves as the protagonist for the story. The audience must realize that they should examine the world within the book first through the protagonist’s point of view, but also take in that of the opposing group, or else the moral is invisible. The Butter Battle Book, by Dr. Seuss, and''Love My Rifle More Than You'', by Kayla Williams, both are representative of conflicts that have been extremely significant in the United States’ history and popular culture. Dr. Seuss’s picture book is a social commentary on the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union. Each side, the Yooks and the Zooks, feel the incessant need to outdo the other in the production of weapons, first in size, and then in power. I knew that much of Dr. Seuss’s children’s literature dealt with morality, but I actually never knew that he could have such political statements as well. He speaks to the futility of war by illustrating the completely pointless reasoning of the Yooks’ and Zooks’ conflict: on which side of the bread to put the butter. The ethnocentrism of despising another group for practically no reason is the main thing that Dr. Seuss warns against in this book. The story ends in a stalemate, with a lingering question: who will drop the deadliest bomb first? The audience, and presumably the young Yook protagonist, is left wondering if there is any validity to the conflict. Group hostility comes into play, albeit with many more variables, in Williams’s novel. Kayla often takes time to describe her own internal conflict surrounding the treatment of prisoners and innocent Iraqi civilians. Many other soldiers are content to treat them like animals, because “thy’re all terrorists anyway.”However, Kayla is observant enough to empathize, and predicts that even if they weren’t initially terrorists, they will come to hate Americans after enduring such treatment. The lines between “good” and “bad” become blurred in the Iraq War. The Iraqis are clearly discontent at our invasion of their country, but America sees it s a necessary police measure, a charity even. The main point that I have taken from the course discussions and the novels is that everything surrounding war is relevant to a group or individual’s point of view.Ironically, any conflict, including war, is a result of these differing perspectives. It is only by becoming well-rounded and overcoming cultural superiority that humans can obtain peace. Alex Lambert Coming into this class I thought it would just be another Liberal Studies class, but I learned a lot more than I thought I would. Being from the Fayetteville/Fort Bragg area, a huge ''military town I was used to people supporting the troops and the war. I thought it was commonplace to support them and I thought everyone American did. In this class I learned what it’s like in a more liberal setting, and I learned that I like being a military town much more. I also learned reasons why people don’t support the soldiers, reasons like “they do bad things” and “they aren’t all heroes”. This showed me that people can be so ignorant to the world around them yet so smart inside their own head. Fort Bragg is the home of the 82nd Airborne Division and 3rd Special Forces Group. In my opinion, everyone at Fort Bragg is a hero. I think in order to understand this you would have to be around it. I learned that not as many people know about the military as you would assume, and they just talk about what they have heard and not seen, and I think that is the opposite of what should be done. So, in short, I think this class was a success, it gave me a taste of the “real world” if you will. Chelsea Harris When I sat in my chair the first day of classes this semester, I thought this class would be just like every other LBST I’ve taken: a boring, bullshit class that I had to take to get through my General Education. I was slightly interested in the material because I was an English major at the time, so the concept of reading about war intrigued me, but I was still convinced it was going to be boring. As the semester progressed, however, I found that I actually enjoyed the discussions we held in class. As I came to enjoy the discussion topics, the more I realized that the course is extremely relevant to the life I live. Learning about dichotomies is one of the most beneficial concepts I gathered from the class. It is so easy to look at situation with a black and white perspective. Even though I try not to, I do that more often than I would like to admit. When we focus on differences negatively it is nearly impossible to use those differences as positive influences in our own culture or in our lives day to day. I strongly believe that for every difference between two people, cultures, or groups, there are multiple commonalities. This course taught, or reinforced the idea that instead of immediately assuming that different is “wrong,” you should realize that different doesn’t have to be wrong, different can be just that: different. This course also taught me how to articulate my thoughts and beliefs. I’m not going to lie, I hated doing the discussion posts at first, but when I found one on a subject that I was really interested in I thought it was cool to be able to express how I felt about it. I have a very laid back personality, so a lot of the time I realize that I don’t have an opinion on certain issues. During discussion posts I had to challenge myself to see both sides of an issue and think of the ethics behind each. Then I had to decide what I thought about it. Even though it was difficult it is useful because that is something I’m going to have to do more frequently. Having other people post on my comments made me realize that I need to make sure I say what I mean and clarify with facts. I made the mistake once of not going into detail during an explanation. When one of my classmates responded, he insinuated that I was judgmental. At first I was angry because I try to keep an open mind, so I responded (in much more detail). In my response I ended up having to correct myself because I made a statement that I did not even agree with in my initial post. Having to correct myself showed me the importance of paying attention to what I am saying, and knowing why I believe what I choose to believe. Had I read more than I did and earlier than I did, I would have been able to think more about ethical issues. When I read for the class I more or less went through the motions, not really paying attention to the text. This hindered my ability to fully participate in class discussions. You can’t talk about something you don’t understand, right? It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the books we were assigned, I just failed to read in advance so I was always rushing to read before the quizzes. Of the books we read my favorite was probably ''The Enemy. Night was a good book; it was just depressing and shocking. After reading Night, my perspective of humanity changed. It’s frustrating to be a part of the human race where people can murder and cause such brutal harm to others shamelessly. The works assigned are influential and require the reader to truly digest the text in order to fully understand its meaning. When I assumed this class was going to be uninteresting and easy, I was wrong. I will be able to utilize the skills and lessons I learned throughout the semester daily, which is something I appreciate. The assignments we were required to finish called attention to a couple of issues I didn’t realize I had. This class was a pleasant and eye-opening experience. Sarah Gredlics This is my very honest opinion and reflection of the class. When I first registered for this class, I thought it would be my favorite and I would have no troubles obtaining an A. I assumed this Literature and Culture course would involve different, controversial pieces of literature and how they have impacted different cultures, for example, The Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, The Scarlet Letter ''or ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. ''The selections we read in class were new to me and I was entertained by them but the discussion part of the class was mostly uninteresting, at times annoying, and seldom thought provoking. Of the books we read in class, I would have to say ''Lysistrata ''was my favorite. ''The power and powerless theme of the book intrigued me. The women of ancient Greece withholding sex from their husbands until they stopped fighting was hilarious. In addition, I found it interesting that they took over the treasury and resolved their country’s issues by relating them to everyday, household issues that could be metaphorically resolved with household items. In my opinion, class discussions were generally boring and annoying. I often got tired of hearing the opinions of the same people and their arguments with each other. Sure, I could jump in and offer my opinion but when it comes to in class discussion, I consider myself an introvert. I don’t care to express my opinions with such a large and judgmental group, especially since I was often confused by the topic. I tried my best to understand and soak up as much information as I could from the discussion and attempted to form my own opinion from it, but it never came easily. I do like this class and the books we have read this semester. I also found the discussion paper interesting; it made me reach “outside the box” to acquire this new writing style and (attempt to) accurately discuss the topic. During the semester I have learned about new ideas, concepts and been able to form my opinions about a little of everything. For example, I now have a higher appreciation for literature of all forms: poetry, novels and plays. Also, I’ve been better able to understand how war affects different cultures and the reasons wars are waged. I never really gave much thought to war until this class. It was just something the United States did on occasion. We were the ‘good guys’ who helped out in the World Wars and then most recently, we were defending our country (and others) against terrorists (“Bad thing happens someplace, Muslims involved”). I think that war is inevitable because arguments are. I think that our country spends too much money on war related events and items and it would be better used elsewhere. I also believe that the country’s ethics change during times of war. For example, what are the chances that prison guards would force inmates to dog-pile naked? The ethics and morals of American soldiers in the Middle East changed during their time there. This class has increased my awareness of war, other cultures and ethics. I enjoyed the literature we read in class and I wish I could have been able to better discuss them in class. Ben Peach When I signed up for this LBST Literature and Culture over the summer, I expected a semester of conventional “read, write, discuss” classes and to discover a few new books to add to my repetoire (I am a total bookworm, I read every night before bed, currently reading a novel called Omerta by the author who wrote The Godfather). Clearly, however, there was much more to this class. Although I usually kept my opinions to myself, as I am the type to either keep quiet or disagree angrily, I certaintly gained a lot of insight into the opinions of others and their underlying reasons, and feel that I am a more well-rounded invidual because of it. Through various powerpoints, readings and videos, and in-depth discussions, we also learned analytical skills and methods of evaluation to help us in understanding, dissecting, and drawing conclusions from literature, news, propaganda, and various other sources of information (or misinformation). From books such as Love My Rifle More Than You, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Night we gained real-world perspectives and experiences regarding war, allowing us to see through the eyes of people whose entire lives are shattered and restructered based on two world wars and the modern-day Gulf War. An unexpected source was two children’s books, which made strong commentaries on war in general and the Cold War; the format of a children’s book allowed the author to explain often un-said truths about war in plain, simple words. All these books and several others went right along with the analytical skills we learned, giving us concrete examples to apply them to. In All Quiet on the Western Front, I picked two ethical issues to analyze that were both perfect examples of the effects of war, a central theme in this class. The protagonist’s killing of an enemy soldier, and the desensitzing of soldiers embodied by the soldier Kimmerich’s boots. Fearing for his life, the protagonist Paul stabs an enemy soldier in the neck, causing him to die a slow, agonizing death. Paul initially reacts with shock, guilt, and remorse; he vows to atone himself by taking care of the dead man’s family. Befor elong, however, the shock wears off and Paul reconciles himself with the fact of that in war, he must kill or be killed, as he states “After all, war is war.” The issue of Kemmerich’s boots is slightly different. In the second chapter, the soldiers visit Kemerich after his leg is amputated, and the soldier Muller quickly badgers him for his boots. After leaving, Muller ponders how long much longer Kemmerich will live, hoping to inherit his boots should he die or be sent home. It is clear that Kemmerich’s death is of new accord to Muller, that possession of a simple pair of boots has become more important to him than his comrade’s life. This illustrates the incredible trauma of war: a soldier’s very humanity and compassion is devastated by the chaos and misery that surrounds him. I found the class discussions to be particularly interesting; while I didn’t speak up much myself (I usually voice my disagreements directly and none-too complacently, better to keep quiet usually) I did gain a lot from hearing others’ opinions and reasoning behind said opinions. I especially enjoyed hearing from one individual who had a strong knowledge of history and was therefore able to give historical examples and explanations for many of his views. The professor did a good job of encouraging student participation and facilitating the flow of arguments and discussion topics, allowing us to explore several tangents but also explore in-depth and candid perspectives on various issues such as the role of women in the military and the military draft. Lastly, although I have several years of honors english and an ENGL-1103 credit, several terms and ideas were introduced in this class that I had not previously encountered (or failed to learn if I did encounter them). A particularly consistent concept we used in this class was dichotomies, the division of a group or idea into two opposing parts, and was applicable to nearly every book, reading selection, and discussion we went over. Also useful were our studies of propaganda, ethnocentrism, and dehumanization: once we learned to recognize these things, we began to see them all over. Not to mention they are all smart-sounding words to make you look like Einstein if you can throw them into a conversation. To sum it up, this class taught me a lot more than my last Liberal Studies, an anti-semitism class that was shockingly interesting but failed to give me real-world skills. I gained general thinking skills that are quite useful in our information-saturated world, and got some practical examples on which to practice them. In addition, interaction with my peers and hearing their views on the discussion topics, literature, and themes of the course gave me great insight into the mindsets of others and their reasoning. I would definitely recommend Dr. Minslow, particularly this class, to anyone interested in learning about the world as a whole. Category:Browse